


Close Quarters

by Tasseomancy



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, roommate au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 21:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5306594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tasseomancy/pseuds/Tasseomancy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roommates of convenance trip and fall into making out a lot.</p><p>[CURRENTLY DEAD DUE TO MASSIVE CHARACTER OVERHAULS. DON'T EVEN BOTHER.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Close Quarters

“He is elven, polite, well-mannered, clean, goes to sleep at a reasonable time—"

 

“— Is a serial killer"

 

Cassandra gave her a look.

 

“I would not suggest a serial killer for a roommate. Solas is a dear friend of mine and he needs a new place to stay. His current landlord has become  _completely_  unreasonable and his roommate has already left. You said yourself that you needed to find a new roommate and that you would not mind a male one, why not give him a chance?"

 

Alhalasa sighed heavily as she looked at her friend. She wanted to say no just to be difficult since this meeting had her out of bed at an unnaturally early time for a work day but how could she when  _Cassandra_  was the one asking? She could never say no to that angelic face and magnificent gravitas. And she’d even brought her to the nice overpriced coffee shop and  _bought her a fancy dessert coffee_ , they were in the highly coveted  _window seat_. She would’ve given Cassandra her kidney if she asked for it. Anything that gorgeous nevarran amazon asked for. 

 

She raised her hands in defeat. “Okay, okay. I’ll at least talk to him or something."

 

Cassandra smiled and took a sip of her own coffee.  “Good and don’t worry, he will be a good roommate."

 

She snorts. “Oh of course, all the better to get your lady roommate's guard down so you can sneak peek while she’s undressing.” she waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

 

Cassandra made a disgusted noise. “You are terrible and Solas is not like that. He is... a gentlemen."

 

Her brows shoot up.  “Oh now I’m worried for him. If he’s so nice then why would you subject him to me?” 

 

She shrugs “Because I think you will be fine. You are both adults and you both need a solution to your housing problems, this is that."

 

Alhalasa smiles a little into her coffee, deciding to take the comment as a compliment. “Have I told you recently that I love you?"

 

Cassandra rolls her eyes. “Only every day. I will call him later and tell him you’ve agreed and set up a time to meet."

 

“Just have him come around one night after work, that’ll kill to birds with one stone. Tonight’s good if he can make it."

 

It was Cassandra’s turn to be surprised. “So soon? I didn’t think you were so eager to do this."

 

Alhalasa reached out and gently took one of Cassandra’s hand in her own. “If I have to pay another month of full rent alone I am going to cry blood."

 

Cassandra laughed and patted her hand. “I know, I know."

 

They chatted for a bit before looking at their watches and deciding to head off to their respective workplaces, Cassandra to the bookshop and she to the outdoor gear shop she “owned”. In reality it was Varric’s, but he barely did anything past come in and bother them from time to time. It had been her and Thom’s idea to open it and Varric had just been kind enough to help them make it happen. It was a good set up and she honestly didn't think either of them would ever be done thanking Varric regardless of how many times he said it wasn’t necessary.

 

She smiled as she came up to their modest brick storefront with it’ big old timey window large and old fashioned wood sign over it that read  _GRIFFON & HALLA: camping and hunting goods_. It wasn’t much, but the two of them had done everything the could to make the old building look handsome. She’d ended up spending a whole week painting the place while he’d made that sign. It was a true work of art, all beautiful carved and painted wood that set the tone for the shop perfectly. Selling outdoor gear and giving wilderness lessons had been a no brainer for both of them. She’d grown up mostly outdoors thanks to her childhood on the reservation and he had years of hunting experience under his belt. It was the one thing they had any expertise in and setting up shop themselves was honestly the only way a dalish and an ex-convict were going to get a job anywhere even in Kirkwall. 

 

The lights were already on inside, it was Thom’s day to open so he’d probably already been in for at least an hour. She figured Cullen would also probably be in by now too, he’d always liked to come in fairly early. Still feeling giddy from her breakfast with Cassandra, she opened the heavy old fashioned door with a dramatic bang causing Thom and Cullen to look up from where they were checking a display. 

 

“Cassandra might have finally solved my rent problem!” she declared gleefully while all but ripping her jacket off. 

 

“Oh really? That’s good.” Thom laughed. “How’d she manage that one?"

 

“Apparently a friend of hers is as desperate as I am and needs to get out of their shit building."

 

“Ah, they would need to be desperate to want to shack up with you."

 

She laughed and smacked him with her jacket as she walked to the back to put her things away. 

 

“Can it you ass.”

 

She made it to the lockers and threw her coat and bag in before grabbing her apron and slipping it on, Thom’s laughter still ringing from the front. Things were finally looking up since her last roommate up and left her in the cold a few months ago. Maybe this Solas guy wouldn’t be a complete asshole. If Cassandra liked him then he couldn’t be all that bad.

 

Right?

 

 

* * *

 

 

He was glad he’d decided to take a break when the call came in, his nerves were so shot from worrying about his current predicament he was almost certain he would have marred the painting he’d been working on restoring. 

 

With a sigh he picked up his phone and looked to see who was calling. Cassandra. His spirits lifted a bit, she’d mentioned planning to talk to a friend of hers about solving his housing problem, so perhaps some good news? He tried not to let his hopes raise too high.

 

With a deft movement he pressed the button and brought it to a pointed ear. “Hello, Solas speaking."

 

“Solas. Cassandra. I have good news” 

 

  
_Well, she was direct._  “You’re friend is willing to have me as a roommate?"

 

“Essentially, yes. She’d like to meet you before officially agreeing. She’s offered to have you over to do so, that way you’d also get to see the apartment before committing as well. She has suggested tonight but really, any time you can make it this week after work is fine."

 

His heart skipped a beat,  _so soon_? He was honestly elated at the idea. Anything that got him out of this cursed building and dealing with the monster calling itself a landlord. It made him a bit nervous though, this was just a bit too good to be true.  _She is a friend of Cassandra’s so she cannot be that bad_ , he forcibly reminded himself. Cassandra mentioned she was struggling to pay rent since her roommate abandoned her so that was probably why she was so eager to have him move in.

 

And thinking about how his own landlord had been hiking up his rent he could sympathize. 

 

“I’ll admit I’m a bit surprised she’d like to meet so soon but it’s certainly a pleasant one. As it stands I have no plans for the evening, I would be more than happy to do so."

 

He could hear the smile leak into her voice. “Excellent. I will text you her address and number. I’ll let her know and text you with a time to meet us there."

 

“Perfect. I cannot thank you enough for all of this Cassandra."

 

She huffs. “It is nothing. I am just trying to help."

 

They said their goodbyes and sure enough not long after their call ended he had a new text from her with the name, address and phone number of this friend of her’s. 

 

He was so relieved he could sing. A smile managed to make it’s way onto his face as he ran both hands over his smooth head and took what felt like his first breath in ages. It felt like a weight had been finally lifted from his shoulders. He hoped Cassandra got back to him with a time soon, he wanted to make sure he had time to get there from work, or maybe home if he had time to go back and change? That might be a good idea, first impressions and all. But then again he was presenting himself as someone she would potentially be living with, it would probably be best to simply arrive as he would after any day of work. Yes, that was probably the best way to go, best not to overthink it. 

 

The smile stayed with him as he went back to his work. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

She finally got the chance to check her messages during her lunch break and was greeted with one from Cassandra.

 

 

Cass 10:40am

 

Talked to Solas. He can meet today at apt. Gave him your info. When is a good time?

 

 

She grinned despite her mouthful of noodles. The gods were good. She put down her fork and focused on replying while she chewed. 

 

 

Alhalasa 12:52pm 

 

Bless you you actual saint. When does he get off? Do you know? 

 

 

“Is that Cassandra?"

 

She looked up at Cullen who had paused in inhaling his sandwich to look pointedly at her phone.

 

“Yup. She says her friend’s good to meet tonight, we just need to set a time."

 

He looked surprised. “So soon? If this wasn’t a friend of her’s I’d be worried about that. She’ll be there as well won’t she?"

 

“I know, right?” She laughed. “Yeah, she’ll be there. Ready to break out the ol' seeker powers incase things get hairy."  

 

He laughed too. “Perfect."

 

Her phone buzzed to alert her of Cassandra’s response. 

 

Cass 12:58pm

 

Nonsense. He gets off at about 5 I think. 

 

 

Alhalasa 12:58pm

 

Okay so my place at about 7? Is that good 4 you?

 

 

Cass 12:59pm

 

That should be fine. I will let him know and tell you if it needs to change. Let me give you his number as well, just in case. 

 

 

Alhalasa 12:59pm

 

Sounds good! Love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu <3

  

 

She put her phone down and picked up her fork again, waggling her eyebrows at Cullen.

 

“Looks like I’ve got a hot date with not having to bleed my savings account dry anymore."

 

“Yes but if he and Cassandra are coming over won’t you have to cook something and I don’t know—  _clean_ , you apartment?” He gestured with his sandwich as he spoke. 

 

She grimaced. “ You stop being right right now Cullen Rutherford."

 

He grinned. “No I think I’ll just keep at it.” 

 

She groaned and started to wolf down what was left of her meal. She’d have to talk to Thom about cutting out early today so she could get back and make sure the place was presentable and that she had anything  _to_  cook. Maybe this had not been the best planning on her part. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

He’d been becoming increasingly more nervous since he’d been given the time by Cassandra despite his best efforts, it had made it all seem more real and final. He was resolved to get this room however, he couldn’t live where he was anymore and even a poor roommate was something he could work with, at least for as long as it took to find something better.

 

Finally the time had come, he was standing in front of what looked like a fairly respectable if tired apartment building waiting for Cassandra to arrive so they could make the final leg of the journey to what could be his future apartment together. He shifted a little in his coat has he waited for her to materialize. The weather was finally starting to get cold which made the wait somewhat uncomfortable but the color of the changing leaves in the dim light end of day light more than made up for it. It was a nice street, older, every building looking considerably more worn than the area he had been living in and the sidewalks were a mass uneven brickwork, something he honestly preferred. Irrationally he suddenly hoped the apartment had creaky wooden floors and old visible rattling pipes. That would be lovely.

 

His hopes were much, much too high about this. There was guaranteed to be a problem now. 

 

Thankfully before he could damn himself any further Cassandra appeared walking towards him on the opposing street.

 

“Are you ready?” She asked with a small smile when she reached him. 

 

He chuckled breathily. “I suppose, as ready as anyone can be."

 

She patted his back lightly. “It will be fine my friend. She is a good person."

 

  
_A good person doesn’t mean a good roommate_  he thought, but he held his tongue and let her lead him to their destination.

 

 

* * *

 

 

She’d practically raced home to get ready for this fiasco after work. She was lucky that she didn’t really have to do much in terms of cleaning, she’d never had a lot growing up and she tried to keep what she had nice because of that. Her pantry, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. She had next to nothing in and none of it would make a meal. With the speed that only comes from mania she picked a recipe, took stock of her meager kitchen and then sprinted back out to get what she needed. She was going for simple and not bound for immediate disaster, pasta with red sauce. She could manage that and maybe some meatballs on the side for her and cassandra—and him if he wasn’t vegan or something. 

 

She’d considered making something more traditionally elvish but wasn’t sure if he’s like that, if he was like Sera that would’ve sent him up a wall. Pasta was smarter, it was safe, most people liked it and if he didn’t…well…

 

She blitzed through the supermarket beating her personal record for fastest trip to date and rushed back home. Immediately she set to work, setting up everything for cooking and while the water boiled doing a lightening quick cleaning of the apartment just to make sure there were no disaster zones. 

 

By the time she’d finished cooking and set some bowls on the counter she felt like she’d tried to beat a halla in a race. She checked her time, 6:45, not bad. She considered getting changed but she wasn’t messy and it wasn’t like this was business meeting or date, her normal clothes would be fine. Wouldn’t they? 

 

  
_Whatever, who cares_. She plopped down on her couch and turned on the tv. Her work was done and she had a little time to relax while she waited. She hoped. There was always the danger with Cassandra of her being early and her friend might be the same. 

 

The knock about 10 minutes later confirmed that fear.

 

She turned off the tv and got up in a flash, nervous all over again.  _Oh this is just fucking stupid_. 

 

She tried not to race over to the door and open it like a civilized adult. 

 

She saw Cassandra first and smiled instantly. She reached out and pulled her into a quick hug before making way for both of them to come in.

 

Cassandra smiled. “I’m so happy you could do this on such short notice.”   

 

“Oh it’s no big deal! I figured the sooner the better right?” she laughs a little, trying her damnedest not to sound nervous. 

 

He walked in after Cassandra, her first thought was  _creators he’s tall_  and then her heart didn’t so much as sink as it went sort of  _sideways_. She could tell immediately from looking at his face he was  _uthe’vhen_ , either one of the ancient elves who’d decided to wake from the uthenera recently or one of their descendants, and they didn’t usually like the dalish that much. She wondered if Cassandra had known, or if she could even tell the difference between them and city elves.

 

the sharp intake of breath and sudden stiffness in his shoulders seemed to agree with her on the dalish front. 

 

“You are dalish.”

 

“Ah—yeah… did Cassandra not mention that?”

 

She tried to sound casual as she awkwardly closed the door, which brought them  _very_  close. She caught a wave of what smelled like wood smoke? Maybe incense? she wasn’t sure but it reminded her of something. Something good. 

 

Cassandra paused in the middle taking off her jacket.

 

“I had not thought — It is a problem?"

 

He answered almost too quickly. “No! No. I’m just—surprised. It is fine."

 

She smiled nervously, hoping try and keep things light. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to keep the halla out of your room."

 

He laughed a little, seemingly just as nervous as she felt. “Glad hear it."

 

Things seemed to relax a little and Cassandra took off her coat completely and put it on the coat rack next to the door. Solas followed suit, removing his knit green scarf and oat colored peacoat. He seemed to maybe have a thing for knits judging by the scarf and creamy sweater he was wearing. The sweater had a distinctly elven design to it though, which she found herself oddly approving of. She’d expected a city elf, someone who may or may not give a damn about their heritage. While they may not see eye to eye about their people’s history at least he cared just as much as she did. It was something they could build on. 

 

“Dalish or not, Alhalasa is one of my dearest friends. She is a kind, hardworking person and has always been willing to help when one of us needs it. I’m sure she will be a wonderful roommate."

 

She grinned and fanned herself jokingly. “Cassandra,  _please_ , we have company."

 

Cassandra glared at her pointedly.

 

“And Solas is also a good friend. He’s thoughtful, considerate and understanding. He is also very knowledgable about elven history, something I thought you would appreciate."

 

Solas smiled slightly and inclined his head politely to Cassandra. “You’re too kind."

 

Alhalasa found her smile becoming a little less forced. Polite, elven history nerd. She could work with that.

 

 "Well I have dinner ready and waiting so we can either eat then tour or tour than eat. Whichever works for you guys."

 

Cassandra gasped, hand rocketing to her chest in shock. “Oh no! You did not have to cook for us!” She waved her hands as if that would somehow undo it. 

 

she laughed “Of course I did!"

 

 

* * *

 

 

He had not expected her to be dalish and wished Cassandra had warned him so he could have avoided reacting so intensely. She had seemed to shrug off his reaction well enough but he was still worried. Dalish were hard to get along with at the best of times, he certainly wasn’t looking forward to rooming with one. He had to make the best of it though, she seemed nice enough, Cassandra liked her, and he needed the room. That would have to be enough. 

 

The apartment was small but didn’t feel uncomfortably so. The door had opened up immediately into an open living room with high ceilings and tall windows that was separated from a kitchen that seemed to have been carefully engineered by hobbiest woodworker by only a countertop and matching stools. The shelves and cabinetry in the kitchen were non-standard and seemed to have been built over time to maximize the opportunity for vertical storage space. The walls seemed to be white painted brick in some places and dry wall or plaster in others and the floors, to his immense delight, seemed to be the original wood floors if the thinness of the slats and discolorations where anything to go by. Water pipes, venting ducts and electrical lines peaked in and out of sight everywhere he looked. He liked it already. 

 

“Perhaps—” He ventured, “We should look around first, I doubt it will take too much time, and then we can get to know each other over dinner."

 

She looked over at him and smiled. “Sounds like a plan to me.” 

 

Her smile was warm and friendly and it gave him a little hope that this might actually not be so bad after all.

 

She gestured to their right to daw attention to the bathroom. It ate up some of the kitchen’s space, leaving the bathroom nothing but a small rectangle and the kitchen an L-shape.  It a standard affair, white titles everywhere and blessedly clean. 

 

“Here’s the bathroom, it’s nothing special really so that’s whatever.” She shrugged and walked backwards further in.

 

“Kitchen’s to the right, living room to the left, dining room’s right here—“ She patted the small table behind her. “It’s all pretty obvious I guess." 

 

As they moved in the apartment he had a better chance to examine the furniture, all of which seemed to be custom made from whatever wood she could find. The dining table was a simple thing of wood and metal but the living room furniture was some a masterwork of wood, utility, comfort and maximization of space used. The cabinets, cubbies and shelves were all sturdy and made of mix matched wood.  He smiled in earnest at the sight, it was clever, she had barely enough room here for it to be considered a one room apartment but she’d managed to make so much out of it. 

 

“Your furniture is incredible. Did you make much of it?"

 

She seemed surprised for a moment then looked away bashfully in a way that was not bashful at all but clearly an attempt to not look  _too_  proud of her work. “Oh  _noooooo_. I had a  _lot_  of help. My friend Thom is a pro with this kinda thing so if it looks awesome he did it. I did all the real basic shit, like the table and the shelves and stuff. I know how to make a lot of things but Thom’s a real master. Oh! But I did do a lot of the work to build the rooms!"

 

“You  _built_  the rooms?"

 

“Yeah! I did so many repairs on our double wide back home I could  _build_  a house at this point”  she laughed. “But they  _are_  sound proof and they  _are_  up to code so don’t worry!” 

 

Cassandra smirked a little. “I am still surprised that they’re standing. I would have thought they’d have fallen by now."

 

Alhalasa glared at her, the shift of her face brought her vallaslin back to his full attention. The sight made him uncomfortable but he pushed that to the back of his mind.

 

“Where there no rooms here before?” Solas asked 

 

She shrugged. “Not really. It was pretty much a big empty space. I told the landlord there’d be two of us and we were gonna do some building and they just said not to fuck the floors."

 

“They are nice floors."

 

She waggled her eyebrows at him and grinned. “I know right?"

 

“So who was your roommate? Thom?"

 

She laughed. “Hoooo no. He’s got his own place. It was me and my cousin, we’d scrounged up all our money to move here and then the rest went into making this place livable but then she got bonded about a year ago and moved back to the reservation. I had a shemlen in here but…” She made a face as she shook her head. “It was not good."

 

“She made a mess of the place, ruined half the kitchenware, sold drugs out of the apartment and stole what she could carry when she left.”  Cassandra added dryly.

 

He inhaled sharply. “I’m sorry to hear it. Mine sadly decided to leave most of his things behind."

 

Cassandra made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. “What a horrid little man."

 

He laughed lightly. “Yes, my thoughts exactly."

 

Alhalasa guided them to the left and through the living room the small hallway made by the rooms, which were on the left and the conglomeration of shelving to the wall on the right. She paused before the open door to the first room. She seemed a bit sheepish to show him where he’d actually be living. He could feel the apprehension claw it’s way but up into his throat.

 

“So this is the room you’d be in. It might seem a bit small but it’s about 7 feet or so and the bedframe can fit a queen size mattress. There’s actually a lot of room and great storage space so I guess just—don’t get put off by how small it seems."

 

She and Cassandra moved out of the way to let him examine the space which was small— incredibly so— but it was also very nicely designed. There was a lofted bed with bookshelves built above it, small closet space under it, drawers next to that, a standing desk to the immediate right, and small stairway that —yes— also served as a makeshift storage area. All of it made from beautiful recycled wood. He could think of a few people who would be horrified to live in room like this but in all honestly, it was exactly the sort of thing he liked. Simple, rustic, pragmatic and creative about how to maximize the practical uses of the space without sacrificing comfort. The entire apartment was an adventure in problem solving that had his mind working to suss out all the things she’d already done and concoct additional solutions.  

 

He turned back to them thoughtfully. “well, I only have a double sized mattress at the moment but I suppose that will have to do until I can get a queen."

 

The women looked at each other and grinned. 

 

Alhalasa clapped her hands together. “Great so now to the pasta and banging out the details I guess!"

 

**Author's Note:**

> my first stab at a multi-chapter fic in like 50 years. pray for me. 
> 
> also if you wanna see the insp for the apartment here it is (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHGxfWtl_70)
> 
> just remove the back room and make it more cozy, old and about 50% more badass wood shit. but that's the basic set up B)


End file.
